Advice on lowering a 1969 Electra and new alloy wheels

Hello everyone, I have a couple of questions that I'd like to put out there.

Once it gets to NZ I'd like to slightly lower our 1969 Electra (On coils) .. probably 1.1/2" - 2" drop.
(No one in NZ seems to list lowered coil springs for this model) so supplier info & any experience would be very helpful thanks.

I'd also like to put a nice set of alloy wheels on it. 17" or 18" at a guess. Wheels seem easy enough to get in NZ but any info or experience would be great. (Don't want to to any mods to make them fit)

 

I would simply remove each coil spring and cut them shorter.

 

Thanks Sean, unfortunately we aren't allowed to do that in NZ

 

Hey Cam, that lowering kit looks like a good bet to me. I am pretty sure other companies could pit something together for you. I would give a few a call and shop around. You will need shocks that can handle the change in ride height anyway.

 

Who will know?

 

Heat them until they sag then…
Patrick

 

Well my Riv is registered as a historic car so i don't have to go to WOF. You only have to do it once to get plates and that's it.
But I doubt anyone would know if I cut one or two coils from my springs even in Germany. Would they have anything to compare hight of my car or what? This is all bs, ppl who work on register stations have very limited knowledge even on modern cars and they can't even find obvious flaws in cars. I know couse I am mechanic and I see this everyday with my client's cars.

Couple of years ago, i had this car which had one McPherson literally empty and not working at all. And in yearly WOF they told me that I need to replace stabilizer links which in fact was the only good thing in that suspension.

So yea, WHO WILL KNOW.


Much health,
And Much wealth,
Peace Kacper.

P. S. stay away from TV, press and radio for more than half year and notice how much stupidity are they enforcing on people, and the worst part is that they are successful in making people afraid of everything.

 

Still how will they know you have cut 1 coil from your spring, i call it bs.

Peace,
Kacper.

 

BTW is your Nail head legal in a 67?

Peace,
Kacper.

 

And watch this, almost all of our cars are illegal. For instance we drive on radial tires were those boats were engineered for bias plys, a lot of us ditched points for electronic ignition and so on and on and on.


Peace,
Kacper.

 

For wheels, it's really a matter of what is available locally. My personal preference is for Rallye wheels (typically a reproduction version) but those are not aluminum / allow.

You have a bolt pattern of 127mm diameter (5"), but you'd also need to check the offset / backspacing and I don't know the numbers for that car. It will be difficult to go with a wider wheel, especially if you lower the car, in case you get a flat tire or something. Those rear wheel skirts can be a hassle, especially with larger wheels.

For lowering - honestly I suspect that once you get the car, you will see that you don't want to lower it - even though they are big cars they already sit kinda low (especially if the springs are old). And if you go much lower you might scrape the car on speed bumps and such (unless the car will be for shows only and not for frequent driving).

-Bob C.

 

I agree with Bob; if it were mine I’d put factory ‘road wheels’ and a somewhat narrow stripe whitewall tire on it and be done.
Patrick

 

Great for him, wonder what about 18" wheels...


Peace,
Kacper.

 

You're going to find that these cars are plenty low enough, in fact mine is at stock height and there are some speed bumps it will scrape over because it is so long and straddles them. Driveways from parking lots are another concern. To put the bigger wheels on them, you will likely have clearance issues in the front, and the rear skirts might interfere as well. Take the skirts off and the car just looks "dumb", - the lines are ruined.
Put on a set of Road Wheels and you'd be surprised how it smartens up the look of that car.

Electras were tuned to be long distance cruisers, they are set up to minimize road feel in the cabin, - they ride like a cloud. The 69s were a good handling car, they changed the power steering set up somewhat and gave the steering more road feel, - it's more like a water wheel in mine. That car is happiest on an open highway doing 70 mph.

 

Cut one coil, half the coil spring rides up in the frame pocket, those inspection idiots won’t know
Do realize tho after you cut a coil, the ride (soft) will be firmer, maybe even harsh

 

There is a boardmember here with a blue '72 Electra sporting, I believe, 17" Torque Thrusts with appropriately sized tires to accommodate stock suspension and skirts. A very nice looking alternative to stock road wheels, with more widely available current tires.

And I agree with the prior observation: these cars are already low enough. Best approach here is to just changes wheels/tires and call it good.

 

I went back and looked....it's Electra Bob, and he runs 235/55-18.

Outside diameter of 235/55-18 is 28.2".

Outside diameter of H78-15 (? Standard on '72 Electra) is 28.36"